Every book has something to offer

Lin Ke returned to his little courtyard and reflected on the day's activities.

On his first day here, the first thing he had done was complete the quest's second choice.

Of course, he had also kept to his usual style, taking every choice available.

For the first choice, he had earned the right to become Li Chungang's disciple. At least he could formally apprentice himself within three days.

For the second choice, he had met Wang Lin and become her disciple. He did not know how much credence to give her claim of being "the most talented woman under heaven," but the paintings in that dark little room were all so lifelike they seemed to leap off the paper.

For the third choice, he had met Tongfu's proprietor and secured steady work. At least he would have two steamed buns every evening.

And from time to time, he could go to the "Entertainment House for listening to music" and secretly pick up a few tricks.

Those three choices neatly corresponded to his contest in three months.

Poetry for the literary category, coordination for the martial category, and painting for the miscellaneous category.

Really, literature and martial arts were the two categories he felt most confident about.

With the dazzling civilization of his previous life standing behind him, losing would be an utter disgrace to transmigrators and literary plagiarists everywhere.

Painting, the miscellaneous category, was something he felt less sure about.

After all, he had not drawn very much. He had done some basic sketching, but that certainly could not compare with this world's mastery of ink painting.

Still, he would be setting the questions. Hopefully, once his cart reached the mountain, a road would appear.

Early the next morning, Lin Ke opened his eyes, got up, washed, and then began running through the streets, making several trips back and forth along the deserted roads.

Only after finishing his warm-up did he return to practice backbends and stretch his muscles, then chop the firewood he had gathered in the courtyard.

By the time he finished, it was already past eight, almost nine. He checked the time, wiped away his sweat, and headed to the tofu shop next door.

At the entrance, Lin Ke spotted the sturdy figure sitting inside. He approached and bowed. "Good morning, Master Li!"

Li Chungang sat in his chair and replied with a smile, "Morning. You... what did you call me?"

Lin Ke smiled and answered calmly, "Master."

Li Chungang gave him an odd look. "Why are you calling me Master?"

Lin Ke bowed. "You accepted me first, Master, yet I waited until the next morning to perform the apprenticeship ceremony. That was thoughtless of your disciple."

Li Chungang smiled at that. "I'm just an old man who makes blood tofu. How could I be your master?"

He raised his teacup and took a sip.

Lin Ke shook his head. "Some hear the Way before others, and each craft has its own specialty. Whatever you do, Master, I'll learn it from you."

At the words "Some hear the Way before others, and each craft has its own specialty," Li Chungang's eyes brightened. "Good!"

Then Li Chungang stroked his beard. "How did you realize I was a Great Confucian? Everyone here thinks I'm a tofu maker."

First rank, physiognomists; second rank, artisans; third rank, martial artists; fourth rank, merchants; fifth rank, physicians; sixth rank, soldiers. All other schools were miscellaneous.

The middle six ranks, artisan registry, tofu maker!

"Huh? Teacher, you're a Great Confucian?" Shock immediately appeared on Lin Ke's face. "I only sought you as my teacher because you seemed somewhat learned... You're actually a Great Confucian?!"

Even if Lin Ke truly knew, he could not say so. After all, his information came from the system.

At Lin Ke's words, Li Chungang stiffened. "Ahem... Qi Dayan didn't tell you? Never mind. Since you want to learn, I'll teach you. Come with me..."

Following Li Chungang deeper into the shop, Lin Ke passed the blood tofu arranged on both sides in the darkness and reached a wooden door at the far end.

"Creeeak..."

The door opened, leading into the courtyard behind the shop.

There was a stone mill in the courtyard, along with many empty tofu trays.

Li Chungang continued forward, but Lin Ke did not move.

Lin Ke saw that the courtyard's ground was covered in blood.

Yes, red everywhere.

How many living creatures had to be killed to stain all the soil in this courtyard red?

"Urgh." At the thought, Lin Ke felt his stomach churn and dry-heaved.

A short distance ahead, Li Chungang heard him and stopped. He turned back, saw Lin Ke's condition, and laughed.

"Hahaha..."

A smile appeared on Li Chungang's face. "You can't even endure this little scene of misery? How will you face the misery of the world in the future?"

Lin Ke felt that Li Chungang was hinting at something else, so he firmly suppressed his nausea and followed close behind.

Beyond that stretch of blood-red ground stood a little thatched cottage.

A study?

They pushed open the door and entered.

Inside, six rows of bookshelves of various sizes stood in neat arrangement.

Book after book filled the shelves, making it look like a small library.

Each bookshelf bore a small character, which could only be read from up close.

Li Chungang stood before one row of bookshelves, raising a hand to run it over the books one by one.

"Lin Ke, how do you read books?"

Without turning around, Li Chungang asked the question out of nowhere.

Naturally, Lin Ke did not take it as a simple question about whether he read with his eyes or his brain.

How do I read books?

There were many books, some well written and some poorly written, but every book surely had something worth taking from it, across such aspects as its merits and faults, its prose, and the ideas it sought to convey.

Lin Ke thought for a moment, then answered calmly, "Master, I once heard that within books dwell beauties with faces like jade, and within books stand houses of gold. Every book has something to offer when you open it!"

But then Lin Ke thought of certain "Liu Bei" books and added, "Still, different readers will understand the same book differently. A wise reader takes its essence and discards its dross, while a foolish reader may find only the dross."

A thousand people had a thousand Hamlets in their eyes!

Everyone felt differently when reading, and everyone had their own understanding of a book.

Some people read those little "Liu Bei" books and saw nothing but filthy things.

Others were different. They looked upon them with appreciation, compassion, or inspiration.

They appreciated someone's superb skills honed through long practice, pitied people forced to swallow bitter fruit to make a living, or felt that others were working hard and giving it their all...

For example, in his previous life, Lin Ke had loved asking to "borrow a film for a chat," getting his friends to share their resources so he could watch and learn.

In short, when reading a book, everyone reacted to all sorts of things within it: language, objects, underlying principles, characters, and more.

Lin Ke felt that these were probably the aspects Li Chungang was asking about.

"Excellent!" Li Chungang's eyes lit up. Looking at Lin Ke, he laughed heartily and patted his shoulder.

"Hahaha, haha, hahaha..."

He stopped laughing and said, "That old rascal finally didn't lie to me this time. It seems you really are a piece of unpolished jade."

Lin Ke gave a helpless smile. "Unpolished jade? You flatter me, Master."

Seeing that Lin Ke was about to offer more polite words, Li Chungang waved a hand, cutting him off, and said:

"All right, all right. There are plenty of things I don't want to ask about."

Li Chungang paused, then continued, "For the next three months, you'll stay here with me, reading books and making tofu."

Hearing that he would also have to make tofu, Lin Ke's expression did not change. He simply nodded calmly.

"Heh." After seeing him nod, Li Chungang continued, "Come, I'll tell you what to read first."

"In the first month, you must finish all the books in this row." Li Chungang pointed at a row of shelves.

Lin Ke saw that the small character above it was "History." He thought for a moment, then asked tentatively:

"History books?"

A little delight stirred in his heart.

Just as well. He wanted to learn about this world's history, too.